Shippers transport a significant amount of freight these days using cargo aircraft or in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft. Because of the high costs associated with transporting cargo by air, shippers try to arrange the cargo in the cargo hold so as to utilize as much of the volume of the cargo hold of an aircraft as possible. Typically, individual packages of cargo are accommodated in a container, which is then loaded into the cargo hold of the aircraft. Such containers, called unit load devices (ULDs) are commonly used in the freight industry. Some ULDs are shaped to conform to the interior contours of a cargo hold.
The side and top walls of the ULDs, however, limit access to the inner volume of the ULDs during loading of the packages into the ULDs. Moreover, the side and top walls of the ULDs themselves occupy some volume, which is not available for placing packages in the ULDs. Some shippers use cargo pallets instead of ULDs. Cargo pallets are typically square or rectangular flat structures on which packages can be stacked. A cargo net is often used to cover the stacked packages. The net is secured to the sides of the pallet to ensure that the packages are not dislodged from the cargo pallet.
Shippers also sometimes employ a modified cargo pallet that has angled panels extending from two edges of the cargo pallet. The angled panels allow for additional space for stacking the packages making up the cargo. To ensure that the angled panels can support the weight of the packages loaded on to the modified pallet, the angled panels are typically connected to the base of the pallet, using support cables or other bars. These support cables or bars, however, are prone to severe damage during loading or movement of the pallet using, for example, a fork lift vehicle or a crane. The support cables or bars also limit access to the base of the cargo pallet during placement of packages on the cargo pallet, making it difficult to use all of the available space on the pallet.
The cargo pallet of the present disclosure represents an improvement over the prior art and solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.